Sometime Around Midnight
by Coyote Blues
Summary: In which Hank sees Raven six months after the beach, and learns that a broken heart is the hardest wound to heal. XMFC, Hank/Raven, one-shot form Hank's POV. Inspired by the song "Sometime Around Midnight" by Airborne Toxic Event.


**Sometime Around Midnight**

 _In which Hank sees Raven six months after the beach, and learns that a broken heart is the hardest wound to heal. XMFC, Hank/Raven, one-shot form Hank's POV. Inspired by the song "Sometime Around Midnight" by Airborne Toxic Event (you can find it on YouTube; I recommend listening while reading :)_

* * *

Looking at her standing in the study, leaning easily against the door, Hank could still remember the rough texture of her scales and the softness of her lips pressed against his.

She was wearing a simple white dress. He knew it was an illusion crafted from her skin; _mutant_ _and_ _proud_ , she still elected cover her nudity, although it had been a long time since she wore clothing not made from her own scales. Hank remembered the night she fashioned that dress for the first time; how breathtaking the stark color was against her indigo skin, and how it stunningly offset her auburn hair and golden eyes. He guilty remembered how she cast her eyes away when he uttered a mere "you looked nice" and started raving again about that _damn_ _serum_ when she asked his opinion of her dress. Hank had replayed that moment in his mind a thousand times; he was livid with himself for not stopping when he saw her turn away, or when he failed to realize that for the last two days leading up to the beach, Raven had been wearing her natural skin more and more. What he had truly wanted to say – what he _should_ have said and maybe, just _maybe,_ Raven would have _stayed_ – was that she rivaled the splendor of Aphrodite, that she was a goddess and he a fool who had no right to such beauty in his life.

In truth, it wasn't that she was just the first _mutant_ he had kissed; she was the first woman he had ever _loved_. If only he could have loved himself as he was, maybe things wouldn't stand as they did now.

* * *

Sometime around midnight, the teams had completed their joint mission and retired to the Westchester mansion. There were few injuries; they counted themselves lucky to have diverted the military operation without causalities. It wasn't protocol for the X-Men and Brotherhood to fight together; in the six months since they took opposing sides at the beach, the two teams had not once crossed paths. It was only when Erik contacted Charles as a last resort that the two teams mutually decreed a truce and joined forces against a deadly military threat that targeted both teams. Their stand together had been successful in saving the both the X-Men and the Brotherhood's lives.

During the last minutes of battle, Raven had been knocked to the ground. When the smoked cleared, Hank did not hesitate to run towards the blue girl to help her. If Hank had not been so focused on reaching her, he would have missed it. The teleporter was closer to Raven, and he reached her first to help her stand. For the briefest second after she regained her footing, the red mutant brushed his fingers lightly across Raven's cheek. It wasn't so much how he had touched Raven – the desperate part of Hank's mind tried to reason that the teleporter had only done so to check this teammate for injuries – but it was the _smile_ that Raven gave the red mutant in return, a smile that hinted at some deeper affection, the same smile that Hank remembered Raven giving him in the days before she left, that caused Hank to freeze in his tracks and his stomach to churn and coil into ropes. He masked his run towards Raven quickly by turning and helping Angel to her feet, pretending that was his motivation all along, although he was sure neither Raven nor the teleporter saw his advance. When the teams were accounted for and injuries assessed, Charles had insisted that the Brotherhood return to the mansion for a short celebration of their success and their temporary peace.

* * *

Several bottles of Charles's best wine were dispensed immediately after the teams returned, giving the Brotherhood a reason to linger while Charles and Erik discussed the outcome of the mission. With a flourish of his hand, Erik started the record player in an attempt to add a lightness to the air, the soft piano chords diffusing the tension of the unusual gathering. Hank stood off to the side with Alex and Sean while the Brotherhood members clustered in a tight circle across the way. Their respective leaders had occupied the middle of the room, deep in discussion.

Hank chewed hard on an ice cube as he stood with Alex and Sean, the trio secretly stealing glances at the Brotherhood, who were snickering and talking loudly as they drank. Raven had her back to the X-Men. Although not facing them, it was obvious through both her and Angel's careful moments that the girls knew their former teammates were keeping tabs. Hank saw Raven's hair twirl slightly in the breeze of Angel's slowly beating wings, and for a moment, he could almost feel the silkiness of it running through his fingers again. From the corner of his eye, Hank watched the blue girl while she animatedly recounted a story, transforming rapidly from an exaggerated Erik pointing his finger into the teleporter, holding up her now crimson hands and speaking in a comically stiff Russian as her teammates barked in laughter. When the joking died down, Raven excused herself and drifted away from her team, moving towards where Hank stood. The room suddenly started spinning as she approached, and Hank felt powerless to stop it.

"How are you?" She smiled warmly as she drew near him. It was a genuine smile, a friendly smile, but it wasn't the smile he remembered, or craved. The smile he remembered – the one he was tormented by in both dreams and nightmares – she had gifted to the teleporter an hour before. The two blue mutants chatted amicably for a few moments, Hank struggling to find answers to Raven's sociable questions and statements as he fought the onslaught of the feral waves of memories that crashed in his mind. Standing this close, he could smell her scent, he could see her lying in his arms and laughing carefree as the world fell all around him. While she smiled outwardly, Raven held her drink firmly between herself and Hank if it was a cross, creating a physical space between herself and leonine mutant.

When the evening was over and the goodbyes said, Charles politely asked the Brotherhood to teleport outside to avoid the lingering sulfuric smell that often permeating the air afterwards. Erik motioned to his team to make their way to the front door. As Hank watched the rival team depart, he was startled when a hand slipped onto his shoulder.

"Are you _Ok_ man? You look like you've seen a _ghost_." Sean frowned slightly as he looked at Hank. The read-headed mutant had barely acknowledged the Brotherhood's presence in the last hour, refusing to speak to any of them. He certainly hadn't notice Hank's reaction to seeing Raven again.

"I'm just…it was just… _weird_ seeing them here, again. That's all." Hank shook his head, trying to brush off his friend's concern.

"Yeah, _good riddance_ to those _assholes_ ," Alex snickered and held up his drink towards the space the Brotherhood members had occupied. "Let's hope we _never_ have to join forces again!" Sean joined in Alex's toast, clinking their glasses together as Charles shook his head sadly. Hank forced a smile at their jest, but a sharp ache – some precursor to _panic_ – had begun to throb in his chest. The animalistic urge in him reared its head and Hank turned suddenly, dropping his drink and bolting towards the front door. He didn't stop when Charles telepathically called to him, startled by the blue mutant's sudden departure. Hank ran faster when he heard Alex and Sean give chase, their heavy footsteps fading behind him, unable to match his speed. Hank just _had_ to reach to the door; he _had_ to try to stop her from leaving _again_ before it was too late.

Hank threw the door open just as the Brotherhood members were linking together on the front lawn, facing away from the mansion. The teleporter stood between Angel and Raven. Hank threw his hand out and started to speak Raven's name, but his voice disappeared when he saw that while the red mutant held Angel's hand in a perfunctory manner, he and Raven had their fingers laced together in a way Hank knew in his heart wasn't _necessary_ for a transport. From behind, he could see the spade of red mutant's tail, the one that had almost taken his life, curled tenderly, almost _lovingly_ , around Raven's left ankle. Raven glanced over her shoulder at Hank silhouetted in the doorway. She smiled sadly at him as she melted into smoke.

As he watched Raven vanish from his life for a second time, Hank too felt like his heart had broken into thousand wisps of fiery smoke, fading quietly into the night.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _As much as I adore Raven/Azazel focused stories (if you can't tell), I'm trying my hand at writing other characters. The rebooted X-Men gave us so many new depths to established characters that it's been fun to get in their heads and write from different POVs. I also strongly recommend listening to "Sometime Around Midnight" while reading this one-shot; this entire story popped-up in my head as I listened to it this morning._

 _As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! And, if you have a character or pairing you'd like to see, let me know. I've got a few ideas lined-up for one-shots & shorts, but I would love to expand my repertoire in coming year._


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